The present invention relates in general to urinary devices and more particularly to an improved personal urinal for collecting and storing the urine of a non-ambulatory or otherwise immobile patient. More specifically, the present invention relates to a supplemental urinal spout that combines an inlet portion with a retention portion, such retention portion not being part of the urinal reservoir but being complementary to it.
Portable male urinals for use by bed-ridden patients or people who otherwise have a need for a urinal are well known in the art. One such commonly used style of urinal includes a urine receiving reservoir for holding and/or storing urine and a spout extending from or located a distance away from the reservoir. The spout includes an inlet through which the urine is received. A cap may or may not be provided with the urinal.
A long recognized problem associated with portable male urinals is undesirable spillage of the urine following use of the urinal due to, for example, mishandling of the urinal. Backflow or spillage can result in the urine coming into contact with the patient or the bed, which in turn can cause unsanitary health conditions and result in the increased risk for further medical problems, such as infections. In addition, the workload of caretakers is increased due to the need for cleaning the patient and changing the bedding following any such spillage of urine. Bedridden patients have also been known to leave the urinal on the bed following use and then inadvertently contact it and cause it to spill.
Accordingly, numerous attempts have been made at improving portable male urinals to overcome such problems. The below-referenced U.S. patents disclose embodiments of various such urinals. The disclosures of these United States patents are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application for purposes including, but not limited to, indicating the background of the present invention and illustrating the state of the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,358,850 discloses a male urinal having a tubular trap inserted therein and connected to the urinal container by screw threads so as to minimize leakage of liquid from the container. The tubular trap must be removed before use and then reinserted following each use. Both U.S. Pat. Nos. 703,131 and 4,164,795 disclose a rotating nozzle arrangement for an inlet tube which is inserted into a urine container or collector. In both patents, rotation of the nozzle elements aids in resisting the undesired discharge of the contents of the container or collector. Backflow or spillage can still occur when attempting to place the urinal into its closed position. Spillage can also occur if the urinal is not dosed after use.
In a different type of arrangement, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,592,699 and 6,021,529 disclose devices for use in association with a urinal. These devices include a non-return valve to insure that urine can only pass in one direction, i.e. from the funnel (female urinal) or spout (male urinal) area of the device into a urine reservoir, but not out of the reservoir. The addition of a one-way valve to a urinal may appear to be a solution to the problem. However, such valves have been known to fail which, in a worst case scenario, would cause the entire reservoir contents to spill on or near the unsuspecting caregiver and/or patient. Further, the addition of a one-way valve increases the cost of the urinal, which may directly affect the decision to purchase the urinals.
Other potentially relevant patents include U.S. Pat. No. Re. 28,278, which discloses a simple disposable plastic urinal formed by a blow molding operation for use by bed-ridden patients in a hospital or the like, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,529 which discloses a disposable plastic urinal with a flexible extender spout and integral urine-receiving reservoir formed of blow molded plastic.